Results tagged “easterneuropean”

Raleigh, NC's Bowerbirds have had some heavy expectations to live up to since the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle called the folk-pop trio one of his favorite new bands. Since then, they've brought interesting instrumentation, plaintive male-female vocal harmonies, and varying arrangements to cozy music rooms across America and signed to the freak-folk hotbed Dead Oceans label. Chicagoist caught Bowerbirds last August at Schubas, on tour in support of the critically acclaimed, self-released, Hymns For a Dark Horse EP. Chief songwriter Phil Moore weaved fantastical tales over an acoustic guitar and a hi-hat / tambourine contraption, while the supporting cast of Beth Tacular and Marc Paulson shifted easily between a marching band bass drum, violin, and accordion. The result was nothing short of mesmerizing, with Moore's tunes taking on a rambling dimension that would be just as at home in an Eastern European gypsy encampment as they’d be on some rogue, restless pirate ship.

The male bowerbird is one ugly dude, but he makes up for his drab plummage by building elaborate, intricate nests with unusual materials like insect skeletons and bits of colorful garbage. Like their namesake, Raleigh, NC's Bowerbirds build a rather glorious abode out of simple, majestic, and formidable storytelling to house their comparatively modest, unassuming image. Chicagoist first basked in the group's aural light back in August, amidst a mellow crowd at Schubas that had to be comprised of at least one-third journalists. At one point, a member of the audience approached our camera- and notebook-wielding contingent to ask what all the fuss was about this humble, soft-spoken freaky-folk trio, and we're pretty sure they had their answer by the end of the evening. Chief songwriter Phil Moore weaved fantastical tales over an acoustic guitar and a hi-hat/tambourine contraption, while the supporting cast of Beth Tacular and Marc Paulson shifted easily between a marching band bass drum, violin, and accordion. Much of the buzz surrounding Bowerbirds can be attributed to the staunch support of Mountain Goats' John Darnielle, who has called the group "my favorite new band in forever."

Three minutes after we walked into Beograd Meat Market, we figured out that it’s a place that attracts a lot of regulars. How did we decide so quickly? That’s exactly the amount of time it took for Dusan Pavlovic to come over and ask if we needed any help. It’s this kind of customer service — Beograd is family owned, and it shows — coupled with a genuine passion for the Eastern European products...

If you know where to look, you can find scores of bakeries throughout the city that still bake their goods in the traditional Eastern European manner: full of buttery and sugary goodness. Since this is "South Side Cheap Eats", however, you can talk up the praises of the bakeries in K-Town and Milwaukee Avenue on your own time.

Last week the Polka King, Walter "Li'l Wally" Jagiello, passed away in Miami. Li'l Wally is known for reviving the true sounds of polka with his slower tempo reminiscent of the Eastern European sound. He was the first musician inducted into Chicago's Polka Hall of Fame and his album Polish Feelings was nominated for a Grammy in 1985.

Eddie Blazonczyk, Jr., The Versatones

The Ukrainian Museum of Modern Art is displaying a small but important collection of work capturing a sea change of Eastern European democracy. Artists Respond: Ukrainian Art and The Orange Revolution receives its U.S. premiere at this unassuming building in the heart of the Ukrainian Village via The Center for Contemporary Art, Kyiv, Ukraine. As reports of fraud surfaced during the 2004 Ukrainian election, supporters of opposition candidate Victor Yushenko took to the streets to...

Directed with plenty of style by a pre-exiled Roman Polanski, Chinatown is one of best examples of contemporary film noir, and Hollywood moviemaking, done right. It has everything Chicagoist could want: a hard-boiled Jack Nicholson performance, a screenplay (by a pre-Mission: Impossible Deux Robert Towne) that writing guru Syd Field maintains is a model of perfect construction, kid-who-stayed-in-the-picture Robert Evans as producer, and a cameo by Polanski himself. It plays tonight as part of the Gene Siskel Film Center’s series on the masterful (if downright creepy) director, which has upcoming screenings of Repulsion, Rosemary’s Baby, Frantic, and most excitingly, the director’s cut of The Fearless Vampire Killers. The theatre’s website description of that last one notes, “With a dazzling blend of movieland kitsch and Eastern European lore, Polanski creates a fairy tale full of slapstick humor and poignancy, enhanced by his own picaresque performance as the innocent in love.” Movieland kitsch, Eastern European lore, slapstick humor, AND poignancy? Chicagoist knows what we’re doing this Saturday at 6.